'Two-Stroke' has e-mailed Biglorryblog to say: "Further to the classic Commer ambulance story, i
Now for a fabulous virtual pie quiz (Cheese and Onion..mmmm....) what on earth is this below? And I don't mean the Dexion cradle..although it is rather neat as an engine stand..
Anyway TS goes on to say "These emergency vehicles are well worth a peak as 'Two Stroke Junior' recently discovered. With its timeline layout and interactive practical displays it is a very uplifting day out for all the family, and you don't have to worry about inflation as the Museum entrance is by donation too." Sounds good and here's the young shaver doing a bit of expert maintenance work---start 'em young says BLB.
However, I understand that no sooner had TSJ started to change the wheel the local 'Elfin safety' appeared and stopped all work due to a) no wheel chocks b) no high-vis vest and hard hat c) no emergency Bovril...sigh..
That engine looks like a TS3 but the only ones I ever saw were covered in oil and dirt. Now doubt Howard can tell us more about it. Now TSJ is has also forgotten his length of pipe. I always judge the experience of a tyre fitter by the size of the pipe he produces to crack stubborn wheel nuts.
I would have thought that everyone who had anything to do with trucks would know what that is. It's a Commer Knocker or officially a TS3. one of the best sounding engines ever made, along with the Foden 2-stroke and the various GM/Detroit 2-stroke engines.
Have a look at Howard P's great website
http://www.commer.org.nz/Commer_Connections/TS4_Motor3.html
to read the amazing story of a TS4 that has just been restored in NZ and you can even hear it running. Can't wait to see it installed in a truck!
used to drive commer ts3 1959, wonderful memories of the sound of that engine more so on the clime out of brough on the A66, spoke to someone about 10years a go who claimed to have worked on the 4ts development said they tried it with 2 blowers but it was scraped when chrysler took over roots group, lovely to hear that sound again even if is only on a web site, makes the hair stand up. bumper
Thanks Vic, and if you go to this page;
http://www.commer.org.nz/Commer_Connections/Other.html
you can see how the engine worked, an animation of the engine made from a little flip book given out by Rootes Dealers when they sold a TS3 powered Commer to show how they worked, and there's also a video of a cutaway version operating at Bill Richardson's Truck Museum so you can even see inside the engine.
These were amazing beasts. There was a paper presented to the Royal Society of Engineers in the late 90s or somewhere around then that said there still is not an engine that has pulled so much tonnage per kilo/miles and used so little fuel or something to that effect.
They are appreciated and remembered with affection far more in NZ and OZ than they are in England. Out here, they never went anywhere without 2 or 3 times the designated loading. One officially recorded load we have in NZ behind one of these engines (weighbridge tickets) is 52 ton of grain in a 2 axle tipulator - not bad for 3.25 litres! It had to be unloaded by hand as the hoist woudn't lift the load. They were great engines for going up hill, but had no engine braking going down the other. Here in NZ they developed new side plates for the engine to allow 2 or 3 compressors (exhausters) to be attached to the side - thats the thing sticking out to the right. There is huge interest in this engine and possible modern developments of it. Shame the TS4 never made to production. It 'fixed' a lot of the TS3 issues.
I've just had a look at that page, Howard, and hearing the sound of that TS3 accelerating away brought back some memories. There was a company in Auckland called E.Seay Ltd which had a big fleet of TS3-engined Commer tippers (2-axle trucks with 2-axle trailers). They were painted bright red and were always immaculate; when they were working on a roading contract near my place in the 1950s you could hear them for miles and they sounded fantastic.
They eventually wore out and were replaced by Dodge 500s, so Eddie Seay still bought trucks from the same family.
Can any one help me locate a volvo f 12 drivers manual and perhaps other owners manuals for a 1994 F 12?